Sunday, April 30, 2006

Growth Paradox

Our current mood is somewhat of a paradox. The liberal economic policies of the last two decades has led to a worldwide sustained jump in the economy. This jump is not just limited to a few rich people ... it is a widespread boom.

Despite the obvious success of free market policies around the world, the last several years have been a banner year for the left. Why are people rejecting the policies that have been making significant improvements in their lives?

It finally dawned on me. The two areas that aren't sharing in this boom are the News business (which is being undercut by the net) and Hollywood, which is seeing their influence decline. The great global opinion setters are being marginalized and they are screaming bloody murder.

Another interesting aspect of this boom is that small business seems to be in the lead. With the community color directories, I end up paying a great deal of attention to the Main Street economy. It appears to me that these small businesses are the current engines for growth. This is good news because small firms tend to do a better job distributing wealth. Big business is doing okay ... but we aren't seeing the big Clinton era bubble that makes people ecstatic.